Meet Sallie Hibbs, teacher extraordinaire

Thursday

Jan 10, 2013 at 1:00 PMJan 10, 2013 at 1:41 PM

Sallie Hibbs travels almost as much as she is at her home on Belleview Ave. in La Junta. This interview caught her at home because she had just finished her Christmas activities and was recuperating from a broken bone. Hibbs is an extraordinary teacher who has transcended national boundaries and inspired goodwill all over the world.

Bette McFarren

Sallie Hibbs travels almost as much as she is at her home on Belleview Ave. in La Junta. This interview caught her at home because she had just finished her Christmas activities and was recuperating from a broken bone. Hibbs is an extraordinary teacher who has transcended national boundaries and inspired goodwill all over the world.

What inspired you to create an international students' program?"I was ready to try something different after teaching English so long," said Hibbs, speaking in the homey kitchen of her large home which has been also home for many international students. "I had some very good teachers in high school and college, particularly in college. I graduated from Adams State in 1960 and studied summers at the University of Colorado for awhile, taking mostly courses I wanted to take." Her long and illustrious tenure as a teacher in Las Animas and Swink High Schools is dotted with many awards for her as a teacher and also for her students. She has also taught English at Otero Junior College. She earned recognition as Outstanding Colorado English Teacher in 1987 from the Colorado Language Arts Society.Always interested in helping domestic and international students in acquisition of English language skills, she had met several scholars and scientists on the internet following the fall of the Soviet Union. The first teacher she brought to the U.S. was Leo Maslov, a Russian scientist. Tom Hibbs, her husband, recalled that Maslov was interested in obtaining his own computer that would handle his research data, so that he could work independently as well as in computer labs. He had almost loaded all his data into the OJC computer, which at that time (1991) was very slow, when an electrical glitch caused him to have to start over. (OJC now has a fast fiber optic connection.) Maslov eventually returned to teach math at OJC for five years and is now a professor at Aims College in Greeley.After a while, the international effort evolved into a program to help international students who needed to become more proficient in English in order to enter U.S. universities. Most were studying to become proficient enough to pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a prerequisite for entering most U.S. colleges and universities. Sallie Hibbs was director of International Relations at OJC for 14 years, during which time she also had many multicultural projects.After Hibbs' retirement last year, Rochelle (Chellie) Wallace has expanded the program even more, said Hibbs.

What was most challenging about working with international students?The language and cultural differences were most challenging, said Hibbs. During the 1970's, OJC had an engineering program which attracted many students from Middle Eastern and Third World countries. Ordinary cultural differences often provided some awkward moments.A student from Iceland was unpacking his suitcase with the help of his host family's mother when she asked him why there were so many forks in his suitcase. "I get a lot of invitations during the holidays," said the young man, "and before the dessert, the hostess often says, 'keep your fork.'" Hibbs recalled that a group of students from a country famous for its politeness did not ask to be excused or give a compliment to the food when they finished eating, so she had to confront them on the custom in this country. Often cultural differences can cause unnecessary complications among people of different backgrounds, so understanding these differences is a big item in the aculturation of the students and teachers from other countries, in addition to their acquisition of adequate skills in English.

More about Sallie Hibbs:

Experience: Taught English at Las Animas High School, Swink High School, Otero Junior CollegeNova Gorica, Slovenia, Academy of Science, three week writing courseConsultant: ACDI VOCA, English as a Second Language, Khabarovsk, Russia; Novasibirsk, RussiaInterview Team, member for the U.S. State Department's IREX program, interviewing students in Kzakistan, Kyrgystan and TajikistanVisited Japan, So. Korea, N. Vietnam, Hanoi: never as a tourist, always on a mission

Hometown: Salida, attended school K-12 in Monte Vista.

Education:BA Adams State College, 1960Seminars and summer study: Adams State, University of Colorado

Family:Tom and Sallie Hibbs have been married for 41 years.Alaska adventure: in 1976, they quit their jobs, moved to Alaska for a summer and accumulated capital (this is another story).Children: Sally Kay, youngest, born 1974, married to Tom Shipp, working on PhD at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Abigail, grandchild, is five, nearly six.Deborah, born in 1955, will be running design and paint store in Bartstown, Kentucky, for Tom and Sallie Hibbs.Malcolm, born in 1957, owns Frank's LP (propane) in Las Animas.Jason, born in 1963, works at Child Development Services in La Junta.Rebecah, born in 1968, is a computer programmer at the San Diego Zoo.